Each one of us is an image of God. Each of us is a unique expression of God's life, beauty, and intelligence, his creativity and tenderness, his energy and imagination.
God's creation would be a less rich expression of himself were one person missing -- were you missing.
God's love and life are expressed by you in a way that they have never been expressed before.
We affect the quality of our expression of God by how we live our lives.
If we ignore God, there will always be a tension inside of us because we were made to have a living relationship with God. Something in us suspects this, even if we don't want to believe it.
Without God, we don't live up to our potential. Despite all of our efforts, we somehow never quite live up to being the people that we sense we could be.
Without God, we are very much like one another. We make the same mistakes, have the same internal conflicts.
When we recognize God's presence, however, our uniqueness blossoms. We don't waste our lives fighting with ourselves -- and with each other. We're freer to be our best selves. We're more whole.
Only in God's presence can we find the freedom to be ourselves as we were intended to be.
God created each one of us to be a unique expression of Himself.
He has no interest in diminishing our individuality. He created us each as unique individuals.
When we separate ourselves from God, from the source of our uniqueness, we separate ourselves from that which is deepest in us. My innermost self is made in the image of God. My innermost self thrives in the presence of my creator.
We can only know ourselves to the extent that we are willing to be in relationship with God. Otherwise, we continue to remain somewhat of a mystery, even to ourselves.
Read on . . .